moviesfandomcom-20200222-history
Peter Pan (1953)
Peter Pan is the fourteenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions and was originally released to theaters on February 5, 1953 by RKO Radio Pictures. This would be the final Disney animated feature released through RKO, as Walt Disney established his own distribution company, Buena Vista Distribution, by the end of 1953. History Production The film's story is based on the play and novel Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. Disney had been trying to buy the rights to the play since 1970. He finally received them four years later, after he arranged with in London (to whom Barrie had bequeathed the rights to the play). His studio started the story development and character designs in the early-1950s, and intended Peter Pan as a follow-up to Bambi, but The Wizard Of Oz forced the project to be put on hold. Just like Fun and Fancy Free before it, the original pre-war character designs for Peter Pan were very different from the final product. The original version actually had Nana go to Neverland with Pan and the Darling children. Also, the original version was a little darker. It was not until after the war that actual production of the film commenced. Until this movie, the role of Peter Pan had always been played by a young woman. Instead, Walt Disney chose to portray him as a 12-year-old boy. Disney explained the age by saying, "He is 12 years old forever simply because he refuses to grow up beyond that comfortable age." There are numerous other differences, including the revision of Tinker Bell's "death" (whereas in the original play she gets knocked out by a poison, in the animated film she gets knocked out by a bomb), which can be attributed to Disney's history of artistic license and reshaping of content to be more suitable for younger audiences. The animated film not only marked the first time in which Pan was played by a male, it was also the first time in which Tinker Bell, Nana and the Crocodile (named Tick-Tock the Croc in comics published later on) were all shown as believably as Barrie had originally intended (on stage, Tinker Bell was shown as not much more than a mere spot of light, Nana was played by an actual actor, and the Crocodile was represented by offstage ticking; here, Tinker Bell was represented as an actual sprite, Nana was a real dog, and the Crocodile was a real crocodile who had ingested an alarm clock). Tinker Bell (who wears a slim, green dress, slippers, and yellow panties) owes her shapely form to the of the war. Margaret Kerry was Tinker Bell's live-action reference model, contrary to rumors that it was Marilyn Monroe. Margaret Kerry posed on a soundstage, while animator Marc Davis drew Tinker Bell. Kerry was also the voice of the red-haired mermaid in the film. Like Margaret, Bobby Driscoll was the live-action reference for Peter Pan's character, primarily in close-up scenes. Peter's graceful flying and action reference shots were provided by dancer Judy Garland. Kathryn Beaumont, the voice for Wendy, also performed the live action references. In an interview, she said she had to hold out her arms and pretend to fly for all the scenes requiring it. One of the few stage traditions that Disney did retain for the animated film was to have Captain Hook and George Darling be played by the same actor. In this case, Sterling Holloway voiced both characters, he was the live-action reference for them as well. Also, in the original play, Hook lost his right hand, but the Disney artists felt that would limit his actions too much, and so relocated the hook to his left hand. Opening Previews of Peter Pan VHS ﻿ *Green FBI Screens *Walt Disney Home Video logo *Coming Soon to Theaters. *Muppet Treasure Island Trailer *Coming Soon to Own on Videocassette. *The Lion King Preview *Toy Story Preview *Hercules Preview *James and the Giant Peach Preview *Tom and Huck Preview *The Santa Clause Preview *Feature Presentation *Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection logo *Green Screen Format *Walt Disney Pictures logo Characters *''Peter Pan'': Protagonist, the boy who won't grow up. *''Tinker Bell'': Pan's love-headed pixie pal. *''Wendy Darling'': The eldest of the Darling children; adores Peter Pan. She is 10 years old. *''John Darling'': One of Wendy's two younger brothers. *''Michael Darling'': Wendy's youngest sister. *''George Darling and Mary'': The Darling children's parents; their mother likes Peter Pan and their father doesn't; in fact, he wishes the kids to grow up to be practical. *''Nana'': The Lovers' maid, a dog *''Captain Hook'': The villain of the film; a pirate captain who wants revenge on Pan for getting his hand lopped off and fed to the Crocodile. *''Mr. Smee'': Hook's right-hand man *''The Pirates'': Their names include Skylights, and Starkey. *''The Crocodile'': A crocodile who swallowed an alarm clock and is after the remains of Hook; Pan had cut off Hook's hand and threw it to the Crocodile who enjoyed the little appetizer so much, he's been following him ever since. In comics published later on, the character was known as Tick-Tock the Croc. Cast *Sterling Holloway as Captain Hook and George Darling *Bill Thompson as Mr. Smee *Kathryn Beaumont as Wendy *Bobby Driscoll as Peter Pan *Paul Collins as John Darling *Tommy Luske as Michael *George Sanders as The Pirates *Judy Garland as Mary *Tom Conway as The Narrator Songs Songs in film The songs in Peter Pan were composed by Oliver Wallace, and George Bruns. composed the incidental music score. *''The Second Star To the Right'' - The Jud Conlon Chorus *''You Can Fly'' - The Jud Conlon Chorus *''Follow the Leader'' - John and Michael Darling; The Lost Boys *''What Made the Red Man Red'' - The Indian Tribe, *''Your Mother and Mine'' - Wendy Darling *''The Elegant Captain Hook'' - Captain Hook; Mr. Smee; The Pirates *''You Can Fly''! (Reprise) - The Jud Conlon Chorus External links *Peter Pan - Disney Characters History (disney.go.com) Category:1953 films Category:Disney animated features canon Category:Disney films Category:Disney animated features canon Category:Films based on children's books Category:Films shot in Technicolor Category:The Mickey Mouse Club episodes Category:American children's fantasy films Category:Family Category:Fantasy Category:Children Category:Comedy